Seattle Seahawks Will Be Fine Without Sidney Rice

By Todd Pheifer

The Seattle Seahawks have had a tough week. They beat the St. Louis Rams on Monday Night Football, but it was an ugly win where Russell Wilson spent far too much time on the ground. The offensive line needs some help.

Now comes the news that Sidney Rice has a torn ACL in his knee. He is done for the season, and some are already speculating that he could be a salary cap casualty in 2014. His playing days with Seattle may be over.

Let us be clear — this is a tough loss for the team. Rice is still a dynamic player and he will be missed, however, the Seahawks will be fine for a couple of reasons.

First of all, Percy Harvin will be back soon. Obviously his return has to include a measure of caution, as he can always have a setback. In addition, there is the possibility that it could take some time for him to get back into the flow. That said, he is still Percy Harvin. He will command attention.

Secondly, the Seahawks still have a number of quality receivers, and Wilson is pretty good about spreading the ball around. Rice has only caught 15 balls this season, while Golden Tate has 32 and Doug Baldwin has 23. You could argue that Rice’s presence opens up opportunities for other receivers, but that can swing both ways.

Perhaps this is an opportunity for Jermaine Kearse to step up. After an impressive preseason, Kearse has a relatively quiet eight catches for the season. This may be an opportunity for him to get some more looks. In addition, Wilson may try to get his tight ends more involved.

The Seahawks will need to make some adjustments without Rice on the field, but they are still a very talented team. They will survive this setback.

Todd Pheifer covers the Seattle Seahawks for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @tpheifer, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google+.